


live in this feeling, this everglow

by skyclectic



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Heist AU, Partners in Crime, Some angst but with a happy ending, always sunshine after rain, exes to lovers again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 06:29:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21333760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyclectic/pseuds/skyclectic
Summary: “you’re something else, tzuyu-yah,” nayeon tells her later when they're dressed and ready to blend in with the rest of the invited guests downstairs. there's a fond smile on nayeon's face, as beautiful as the petals of a flower blossoming on the first day of spring. “i think we’re going to work really well together."
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Im Nayeon
Comments: 7
Kudos: 160





	live in this feeling, this everglow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xylomylo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xylomylo/gifts).

> happy birthday, kelly! thanks for being my other brain cell. thank you too for understanding things i cannot find the words for, and for reminding me to find humour in everything. <3
> 
> fic title from coldplay's everglow because what else is fitting for a fake coldplay stan.

and you're with me wherever i go  
and you give me this feeling, this everglow  
  
what i wouldn't give for just a moment to hold  
because, i live for this feeling, this everglow  
  
_\--everglow, coldplay_

tzuyu’s eyelids are heavy. cobwebs of sleep cling stubbornly to her lashes, and every corner of her mind. it feels like waking up underwater. tzuyu is groggy and disoriented. it takes a while for her to piece everything together - to follow a trail of memories that leads her back to last night. to nayeon turning up at her doorstep, with a crooked half-smile tzuyu hadn’t been able to resist. to the sparks of electric desire racing through her veins when nayeon took a step into her living room and then kissed her breathless against her own apartment door.

nayeon who is now fast asleep, half draped over tzuyu. a blanket of love and warmth with messy bed hair. carefully, tzuyu smooths her fingers over nayeon’s fringe, lingering for longer than necessary. nayeon doesn’t wake up, doesn’t even stir and it tugs on something in tzuyu's chest; the way time and distance have shipwrecked them on separate shores but nayeon still remains a lighthouse shining - a beacon of familiar quirks that guides tzuyu through tempests and the turbulence of her own emotions, to this moment. here and safe with nayeon, in her own bed.

tzuyu’s thumb strokes over the soft skin of nayeon’s nape, over the expanse of inked skin she’d first gotten a glimpse of last night when she had unzipped nayeon’s dress. nayeon had kissed her again before tzuyu could ask about it, honey-sweet and desperate. searing into tzuyu and sinking underneath her bones in ways that melted every doubt and thought running through her mind.

a foreign feeling starts rising up her throat and tzuyu swallows shakily. this is the only difference - the only shard of nayeon that’s a puzzle piece tzuyu has yet to figure out. she doesn’t know what hurts more; the fact that nayeon has a tattoo she knows nothing about, or the fact that everything else about nayeon is identical to the nayeon tzuyu has catalogued in her memories. the nayeon from before, the nayeon who used to be _ hers _.

she’s jolted out of her thoughts when nayeon shifts against her with a soft noise that reminds tzuyu of a kitten. instinctively, tzuyu sweeps her palm up and down the staircase of nayeon’s spine. it works of course, like it always does. nayeon’s breathing evens out again. tzuyu latches on to the sound; finding a kind of peace in the reassuring measure of every breath. her heart and her thoughts turn quiet, and with the subtleness of the gentle dawn breaking outside, tzuyu slips into untroubled sleep.

  
  


**<<**

**kyoto. october 20, 2021.**

the brief she had gotten from jihyo is simple. it’s a straightforward mission - meet up with myoui mina, a japanese agent from the agency's tokyo branch, at the grand opening of rakuyou hotel and steal the star of iris from the office of the hotel’s ceo. 

tzuyu is not expecting to run into any complications. all the variables are within her control and the mission plan she had been given is foolproof. there is very little margin for error or unpredictable encounters.

she’s calm and composed, already dressed in her usual all-black mission outfit, as she waits patiently for myoui mina to arrive in the hotel room the agency had assigned as their safety room. myoui mina who’s a minute and thirty seconds late by now.

when the door to the room beeps open, tzuyu stands up, her back to the door as she grabs the rest of her gear. 

“you’re running late,” tzuyu calls out but there’s only silence. a foreboding kind of silence that is not unlike the calm before the storm breaks. 

tzuyu straightens up and sees it then, the unpredictable encounter that was not supposed to happen on this very straightforward mission. im nayeon stares back at her from the reflection on the window, as equally paralysed as tzuyu is by the impossibility of their reunion. 

( “i can’t - can’t do this anymore, tzuyu. let’s just - i think we should break up.”

“fine. if that’s - if that’s what you really want, then - then, okay. i can’t do this anymore either, nayeon.” )

nayeon snaps out of it first - shadows pass over her face, hiding any and all hint of emotion. “you’re not supposed to be here.”

“and you’re not myoui mina,” tzuyu points out as she turns around to face her past, to face the woman who stole her heart and never gave it back. she sticks to the facts, because the alternative is to confront the tidal wave of hurt and longing rising beneath her breast bone, threatening to flood over her.

“mina is down with chickenpox,” nayeon says, sounding like she’s reading off a memorised script. “so they sent me instead.”

tzuyu feels an absurd, insane urge to laugh because of all the reasons possible, the universe chose chickenpox to fuck her over and orchestrate a meeting with her ex-girlfriend. 

she sobers instantly when the alarm on her wrist watch beeps - a warning that they’re running out of time. 

“we don’t have time for this. we need to move,” she tells nayeon brusquely. facts, and the mission. those are the two things tzuyu needs to latch on to. not the way nayeon looks with her hair a lighter shade of brown and falling in soft waves over her shoulders.

facts, and the mission. variables that are still within her control. tzuyu reminds herself repeatedly as both of them leave the room, ready to execute their plan.

they’re both professionals, and among the agency’s best agents. which is why the mission unfolds without a hitch. tzuyu cracks the safe in under two minutes, while nayeon keeps a careful lookout. then they work seamlessly - nayeon securing the jewel they’re stealing, while tzuyu replaces it with the replica from the compact pouch strapped to her wrist. 

everything about this moment seems awfully familiar, and tzuyu realises why at the same second it must have hit nayeon too. tension looms large in the space between them, filling up the entire room and bringing nostalgia in its wake. 

six years since their first mission in seoul, yet the memory as it plays in tzuyu’s mind is still in sharp relief, untainted by time. 

nayeon clears her throat. fleetingly, tzuyu recognises this as one of the quirks that make up the nayeon she used to know - always one to fill in awkward silences and tension with some levity. 

“at least this jewel lives up to its pretentious name,” nayeon remarks casually. it’s only because tzuyu has known her for so long, has known every inch of nayeon’s heart and soul, that she can hear the faintest tremor underneath nayeon’s words. “our rich fuck client is getting his money’s worth then.”

tzuyu lets out a slow, measured breath. there’s a silver lining hidden somewhere, she knows there is. because everything happens for a reason. even meeting nayeon like this, is not for nothing. maybe it’s the beginning of a new chapter in their story. or maybe it’s the chance for the proper closure tzuyu needs to reclaim her heart and move on from im nayeon. 

“yes,” tzuyu settles on saying. “at least the star of iris is bigger than the nail on my pinky. but one thing’s for sure - it's still smaller than the size of your overlarge, giant hand."

nayeon’s eyes snap towards her, surprise flickering in her eyes at tzuyu’s dry joke. there’s a hint of a smile tugging her lips and it’s enough. for now.

the tentative unspoken truce between them breaks of course. because the mission comes to an end and all they’re left with are the broken shards of their relationship. tzuyu can no longer find safe harbour in the certainty of facts and foolproof mission plans. and the dam holding back all of the hurt and longing she feels is in danger of breaking.

she watches numbly as nayeon, already dressed in jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, slips her feet into worn converse sneakers, stepping on the heels of her shoes instead of putting them on properly. it’s yet another familiar quirk that somehow adds more salt to every one of tzuyu’s raw wounds. 

“take care, tzuyu-yah.” she hears and it’s the thing that finally causes the dam to break. because nayeon’s said those same three words to her so many times over the years. _ take care, tzuyu-yah. _

underneath the deluge of waters murky with the flotsam from their shattered relationship, tzuyu drowns. her lungs are heavy with hot tears and god, it _ hurts _. she doesn’t realise she’s crying until nayeon’s arms are a solid weight around her, keeping her afloat.

_i’m sorry _ , nayeon whispers into her hair, voice fractured in a way that tells tzuyu she’s crying too. _ i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry_

at some point, when tzuyu’s breathing starts returning to some semblance of normal, it’s too much. having nayeon so close to her, holding her like this. everything is too much. and tzuyu suddenly cannot bear it, cannot bear the feeling of nayeon’s arms around her. 

when she pulls away, nayeon just lets her go. 

somehow they end up on the floor of the hotel room, all out of tears. yet still carrying too much ache beneath their own ribs. nayeon is leaning against the door of the wardrobe, eyes swollen and barely dried tear tracks on her cheeks. her body is a broken ragdoll and it hurts tzuyu to look at her. at the way every single one of nayeon’s wounds are fully on display. 

tzuyu hurts too. she can barely breathe past the sharp ache where her heart used to be. but seeing nayeon like this - fraying apart at the seams - puts everything in perspective. she’s not the only one who’s still hurting from their break up. nayeon is scarred from it too.

there’s a silver lining hidden somewhere, lost among the thunder of the storm clouds currently breaking open over their heads. there’s a silver lining, even with all this rain, and tzuyu just has to find it.

so, she takes a deep breath, and feels her lungs expand with air instead of saltwater. "nayeon."

tzuyu waits until nayeon lifts her head. she swallows at the way nayeon's eyes are stormy pools of too much pain, too much regret and too much guilt. like nayeon is blaming herself for the way they are right now - broken and aching from the weight of choices she's made. 

to anyone else, it would not have been noticeable. but tzuyu knows all of nayeon's tells. she's always been able to see through all the cracks. and somehow, understanding starts to slowly eclipse all the hurt she's feeling.

nayeon looks like she's finally forced to confront all her demons. everything that has forced her to run, to pull away from tzuyu and withdraw into herself. tzuyu remembers how nayeon had grown quieter, more withdrawn, in the weeks leading to their break up. 

maybe it's her fault too for not reading the signs right the first time. there's blame to be held for how easily she gave up on fighting for their relationship. for how easily she had let nayeon go no matter how much it had hurt to do so. 

"tell me," tzuyu says, and nayeon flinches, shrinking away into herself.

"nayeon, _ please _."

there's an anguished pause, and then nayeon's face crumples in defeat. 

"do you remember macau?" nayeon asks, voice heavy with the weight of fresh, unshed tears. 

tzuyu nods because how could she ever forget. the fear she had felt then when she thought that nayeon -

"wai hong. the casino owner i stole from - he's a high ranking member of the biggest triad in macau and - he wanted - he wanted to make me pay for killing his brother."

tzuyu is confused. there's a puzzle piece that's still missing. "what do you mean?"

"the guy who injured me was his brother." tzuyu feels white hot flames of anger cut through all of her other emotions. that bastard had almost _ killed _ nayeon. "somehow, when we were struggling, we fell off the parapet we were on. and i - i landed on top of him. his body cushioned the worst of the impact. but - he died immediately."

"why didn't you tell me?" tzuyu's voice is hoarse, both from the anger coursing through her veins and the mounting horror coiling in the pit of her stomach. 

a brittle smile breaks over nayeon’s face. “you were already so worried about me. i didn’t want to worry you more.”

“when you say wai hong wants to make you pay, do you mean -”

nayeon shakes her head, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. “i’m not afraid of him. i don’t care what he does to me. but he - he knows about _ us _ , about _ you _ and he had _ pictures _ \- and i - i can’t risk anything happening to you, tzuyu. i just - ” 

nayeon’s words lose themselves in ugly sobs that echo too loudly in the room. tzuyu’s muscles move before her brain registers the motion. tzuyu lets nayeon’s forehead meet her clavicle, holding her trembling frame as tightly as she can. and then she just lets nayeon cry.  
  


“you’re an idiot,” she murmurs when nayeon’s sobs start to fade. she sweeps her palm up and down the staircase of nayeon’s spine. “and i’m sorry. that you had to bear that burden alone. I wish you’d told me.”

nayeon shifts, and pulls away just far enough to meet tzuyu’s gaze. “i wanted to protect you and i - i thought it’d be easier.”

“if we broke up and you ran away to tokyo?” tzuyu reaches out and cups nayeon’s cheek, watching as nayeon leans into the touch, eyelashes fluttering close for just a second.

“it wasn’t,” nayeon admits, tearing her gaze away from tzuyu as though ashamed. “i couldn’t - i tried so hard but i - i don’t know how to unlove you.”

gently, tzuyu tilts nayeon chin up because this part, she needs to make sure nayeon doesn’t miss. 

“then don’t.” tzuyu seals it with a soft press of her lips to nayeon’s own. 

there’s a pause that feels too long, and tzuyu almost pulls away. but then nayeon kisses her back. and it feels like a new beginning. or maybe the start of them healing. together.

and this is it; the silver lining tzuyu had been looking for along. 

**<<**

**macau. september 22, 2019.**

_ tzumongie: be safe! don’t do anything stupid _

_ nabongs: don’t worry, i’ll be safe ~ see you in a week. take care, tzuyu-yah <3 _

the text message remains open on tzuyu’s phone screen as the helicopter cuts across the acres of sky between seoul and macau. she stares at the message - the words searing into her mind and shattering her in ways tzuyu cannot bear. god, if anything happens to nayeon and she’s not there - 

“we’re landing in 20 minutes.” the pilot’s voice crackles over the headphones. tzuyu waits for the wave of relief to wash over her because she’ll see nayeon soon. but only anxiety wraps itself tighter around her - an unforgiving deadweight tzuyu has to carry.

there’s the sharp edge of fear too, carving her heart into irreparable fractures. tzuyu has never been more afraid in her life and it should mean something; the fact that this fear is shaped like the absence nayeon will leave behind if tzuyu loses her.

it should mean something, but all tzuyu can think about is nayeon’s last message three days ago, sent minutes after she had kissed tzuyu goodbye at the departure gate before catching her flight. 

and then hours ago, tzuyu was urgently called into jihyo’s office. she didn’t let jihyo finish listing down all of nayeon’s injuries or even begin explaining what went wrong. all tzuyu registered is the fact that nayeon, _ her _ nayeon, is in a hospital in macau, her injuries too serious to fly her back to seoul immediately. tzuyu has no idea what she had said to jihyo next, has no real recollection of the events that led up to where she is now, 10,000 feet above macau’s sprawling cityscape.

everything blurs again after they land - the quick transit by car to the hospital blending in with corridors brightly lit in stark white lighting and the smell of antiseptic. everything blurs until tzuyu stands on the threshold of nayeon’s hospital room. all the air leaves her lungs and they become waterlogged with hot tears instead. nayeon looks impossibly tiny, surrounded by tubes and beeping machines. 

tzuyu takes in a deep shuddering breath and swallows painfully, tasting salt on the roof of her mouth. she holds on to her composure and steps into the room, taking her place beside the bed. she looks down at the woman who has somehow ended up being the one that keeps tzuyu’s heart safe. she bends down and presses a kiss to nayeon’s forehead, over the small expanse of skin not covered by a butterfly bandage. 

"i’m here now," she whispers and hopes that nayeon can hear the prayer stitched into every word. “come back to me. _ please _.”

tzuyu startles awake at the feel of gentle fingers carding through her hair. she lifts her head, heart caught in her throat, then to her horror, bursts into tears when nayeon’s steady gaze meets hers. god, she’d been so _ afraid _ those warm brown eyes would remain closed forever.

nayeon lets her cry for a while, threading her fingers through tzuyu’s hair. an anchor for her to hold on to without unravelling completely. when her sobs finally taper into occasional hitching breaths, nayeon’s lips quirk upwards. it’s the briefest of smiles - frayed around the edges and fluttering like the wings of a broken butterfly. but it’s still a smile, and tzuyu latches on to it, feeling the absolute fear that has her heart in a vice grip slowly drain away.

nayeon’s thumb brushes her cheek, coming away wet with tzuyu’s tears. “hey, it’s my birthday. no crying.”

despite everything else, tzuyu can’t help the way a watery laugh bubbles out of her chest. trust nayeon to always remind her to find levity in everything, to temper storms with a tinge of humour. to look for silver linings, instead of worrying about the rain. 

“were you expecting a birthday song instead?” tzuyu’s voice cracks over the words but holds steady and when nayeon’s fragile smile widens just a fraction, tzuyu obliges. of course she does. 

“i love you,” nayeon breathes when tzuyu sings the final note. tzuyu’s breath hitches again and she feels her heart crack wide open. 

it’s been almost a year of shared mornings and nights. almost a year of goodbye kisses and welcome back kisses whenever they go on separate missions. almost a year of navigating the same waters, of defining and redefining their relationship and what they mean to each other.

but they haven’t said it yet. those three words that carry the weight of feelings they already know they feel for one another. they haven’t said it yet, but here is nayeon, impossibly tiny and broken on her hospital bed, with volumes of love in her eyes that match the words she’s just laid bare at tzuyu’s feet.

tzuyu takes in a deep breath, and feels her heart tremble in response to the call of nayeon’s own. she lets her feelings flood over her - a tidal wave tzuyu is defenceless against. she lets herself get swept away, right into nayeon’s waiting arms.

“i love you too. so much,” she confesses against the warmth of nayeon’s neck, careful to not put too much pressure on nayeon’s dislocated shoulder. “i was so afraid i was gonna lose you.”

nayeon’s fingers anchor themselves in tzuyu’s hair again and she’s struck by the sudden realisation that they have somehow found safe harbour in each other’s souls. that over the years, they’ve unconsciously rearranged their own bones to make room for each other to settle in the spaces they’ve made between their ribs. 

( “so tell me, _ exactly. _ who is he and where can i find him? the guy that did this to you,” tzuyu ignores nayeon’s amused chuckle, reaching for the patient chart at the end of the bed and reading off the laundry list of injuries. “i’m going to dislocate his right shoulder, then puncture his lung with a sharp object so it collapses, then add some scars to his forehead and his arms. oh, and then i’m going to break his leg in three places because - “

nayeon, with some effort, leans over and kisses the corner of tzuyu’s mouth. “i don’t need you to go to jail for me. karma will catch up with him. i'm sure." 

tzuyu scowls but gives in almost immediately when nayeon pouts. she forgets about smashing nayeon’s assailant into smithereens in favour of kissing nayeon properly, soft and honey-sweet. )

**<<**

**tainan. january 15, 2016.**

tzuyu’s first successful solo mission happens in her hometown, at a luxurious art gallery just a few blocks away from the childhood home she’s long left behind. she doesn’t have time however, to drop by and say hi to her family or to gucci, her beloved chihuahua. the thought of not seeing them when she’s in the same neighbourhood chafes at her. but tzuyu is a professional and she’s not about to let a little homesickness get to her. 

barely an hour later, thoughts of her mum’s cooking and gucci’s playful barks scatter from her mind the moment tzuyu turns up at the pick-up location where the agency’s chartered helicopter is waiting. a familiar figure clambers out of the cabin, then waves eagerly in tzuyu’s direction, arms flailing wildly. 

“what are you doing here?” tzuyu asks, raising her voice to be heard over the helicopter blades.

“picking you up!” nayeon yells back, then takes three strides forward and crushes tzuyu in a sideways hug, burying her nose in tzuyu’s hair.

while tzuyu is used to nayeon’s customary greeting by now, the force of the hug jostles her enough for a flash of pain to burn white hot over her entire right side. she tries to keep it from showing on her face but fails to suppress a sharp exhale. 

nayeon pulls back immediately, frowning at the way tzuyu is not quite meeting her eyes. after a moment of tense silence, tzuyu pulls it together enough to offer nayeon a small and what she hopes is a reassuring smile. “it’s nothing. i’m fine.”

nayeon doesn’t crack a smile, just gives tzuyu a sharp look and waits. it doesn’t surprise tzuyu at all - nayeon never gives in until she gets her way.

“okay, maybe i bruised a rib,” tzuyu admits, biting her lip when she shifts and there’s pain radiating up her side again. “or two. a security guard managed to land a kick when i wasn’t paying attention.”

tzuyu sees it, the way nayeon’s eyes widen in horror, and then cloud over into a tempest of barely contained fury. tzuyu reaches out and takes nayeon’s hand. she squeezes once until nayeon’s eyes clear and then she holds nayeon’s gaze steadily. 

“i’m _ fine_,” tzuyu repeats. she tilts her head and smiles, genuinely this time, wide enough to show her dimples. “i kicked him hard in the balls right after. then i knocked him out. and possibly broke some fingers when i stomped on his hand as i was leaving. i figured that’s more than enough payback."

“_ good, _ the bastard deserves it.” nayeon’s smirk is a vicious, dangerous thing but it dissolves into a tender smile, the moment tzuyu squeezes her hand again. “come on, let’s get you home and take a look at those ribs.”

tzuyu lets nayeon lead her to the helicopter. lets nayeon help her inside and buckle her into the seat. and for the rest of the two and a half hours they spend in the air, she lets nayeon hold on to her hand without saying anything about it.

later, in the agency’s medical wing, tzuyu lets nayeon examine her injury, sitting quietly on the examination table in only her jeans and her sports bra. nayeon’s fingers are gentle as they brush over her tender ribs - feather-light touches that speak volumes about the care they hold. 

“i don’t think anything’s broken,” nayeon finally says, helping tzuyu to put on her shirt again. “you just need to ice it and get lots of rest. i’ll speak to jihyo about letting you off missions for the next - “

“nayeon,” tzuyu interrupts then falters when nayeon looks at her, open and unguarded. calm tides that soothe over tzuyu’s wounds and float away all her self-doubt and every trace of longing for home. “thank you.”

nayeon looks like she wants to make tzuyu promise not to get hurt again but promises like that are hard to keep in their line of work. in the end, nayeon just kisses tzuyu’s forehead - the briefest press of warm lips against skin. 

“the next person that injures you, you’re gonna tell me _ exactly _ who and where to find them. so i can break _ their _ ribs in two.”

tzuyu laughs then winces because laughing _ hurts _. 

“stop making me laugh.” tzuyu shoots nayeon a half-hearted glare and only gets a crinkled, bunny-toothed smile in return.

a flash of something tzuyu can’t quite put a name to flares in her chest. eclipses the pain from her bruised ribs, growing larger until it becomes a different kind of ache. the kind that makes tzuyu yearn for impossible things; to be the person special enough to deserve the sunshine shining through the edges of nayeon’s heartbreakingly beautiful smile. 

“you really didn’t need to send me home.”

nayeon only smiles. she waits until tzuyu settles in her bed, then pulls the covers up to tuck tzuyu in. 

“take care, tzuyu-yah,” nayeon tells her softly, right before she bends down and kisses tzuyu’s forehead.

**<<**

**seoul. june 23, 2015.**

the mission had sounded simple enough on paper: go undercover as a performing group at the grand opening ceremony of shinhwa hotel and steal the black beauty, a valuable diamond in the possession of the hotel’s owner.

things quickly get complicated however, when tzuyu realises she’d be working with the agency’s top two agents. yoo jeongyeon is welcoming and accommodating; patient whenever tzuyu struggles to string sentences together in a language she’s barely fluent in. im nayeon on the other hand, is intimidating and larger than life, with an air of assured confidence that makes tzuyu feel small. even though she knows she’s good at what she does - a rising star the agency had personally recruited from taiwan. 

they had spent weeks preparing. strategic meetings and physical training bookending dance practices in the studio. tzuyu mostly listened, offering her opinion only when asked, something she can tell rubs nayeon off the wrong way. despite her reticence, tzuyu works hard. she diligently files all the important information away in her memory and puts her energy into learning dance moves for a popular girl group song she vaguely recognises. miss a’s hush or something to that effect.

on the day of the grand opening, their performance goes off without a hitch. tzuyu’s body remembers every move with fluid ease and she sings every word like she’s been singing them her entire life. it still pales in comparison to the way nayeon’s voice bends over every note. effortless and crystal-clear. a melody that somehow finds its way to the space beneath tzuyu’s ribs, settling in the hollow of her heart like liquid gold. 

they exit the stage to rousing applause and split up; jeongyeon heads to their getaway van, in charge of remotely hacking into the hotel’s security system so that tzuyu and nayeon can slip into kim joowon’s office and steal the diamond.

it’s quiet in the emergency stairwell they’re hiding in. a palpable tension in the air as they wait for jeongyeon’s signal. it’s the first time tzuyu and nayeon have been alone since their initial mission briefing. without jeongyeon and her easy humour, and without jihyo’s assured leadership, there’s an awkwardness to the way their edges are still learning how to fit together. 

nayeon is drumming her fingers impatiently on the metal railing, a quirk of hers tzuyu has picked up over the time they’ve spent preparing for today. 

“is it the 2nd door to the left or the one right at the end of the corridor?” tzuyu hears nayeon mutter under her breath. 

this too, is a nayeon quirk tzuyu is familiar with - nayeon has a tendency to talk to herself whenever she thinks. 

“the end of the corridor,” tzuyu murmurs, recalling the blueprint they were given. “the 2nd door to the left is the presidential suite. the jewel is locked in the safe hidden behind a painting that’s a replica of vincent van gogh’s sunflowers. the one he painted in arles in 1889. the combination of the safe is possibly 30031853. van gogh’s birthday."

nayeon’s eyes snap towards her. tzuyu catches a flicker of surprise that dims into genuine admiration, coloured with a tinge of respect. 

“i apologise for underestimating you, chou tzuyu.” tzuyu feels a swoop in her stomach, not unlike the one she gets when she’s on a roller coaster going 150 miles an hour. what she can’t quite figure out is if it’s from the shine of nayeon’s apologetic smile or from the way nayeon had pronounced her name perfectly, intonations and all. 

before tzuyu can begin formulating a reply, jeongyeon’s voice crackles into their earpieces and they leap into action right away.

it’s easy, laughingly so, to break into kim joowon’s office, once jeongyeon has done her magic. the painting beckons them from behind his desk, vibrant yellow that lights up the otherwise austere office. 

“sunflowers from 1889, huh?” nayeon glances at tzuyu out of the corner of her eye.

tzuyu hums in agreement, watching as nayeon runs her fingers over the gilded frame until she finds the hinges and the painting swings open to reveal the safe behind it. “that he painted in arles, yes. the original is in the van gogh museum in amsterdam.”

nayeon turns to her with a raised eyebrow, that same admiration from earlier dancing in her eyes. tzuyu shrugs. “i like van gogh too.”

nayeon’s lips quirk. then she’s keying in the passcode and there it is, the black beauty. it’s _ tiny _. barely half the size of tzuyu’s pinky nail. it's an unremarkable piece of rock that doesn't quite live up to its name. there’s a ringing kind of silence for a good ten seconds before jeongyeon calls out a warning and they start moving again.

“with the amount of money our rich fuck client is paying us, you’d think it’d be _ bigger _,” nayeon says, tone heavy with incredulity. 

tzuyu shrugs again. she waits until nayeon secures the diamond. then she takes out the glass replica from her pocket and tucks it into the velvet box in the middle of the safe. their replica is significantly bigger but with any luck, by the time kim joowon notices, the trail that leads back to them will have long grown cold.

nayeon’s communicating with jeongyeon now, planning the cleanest escape route for them to use. tzuyu multi-tasks; she keeps an ear on the conversation and focuses on rigging the safe’s combination to self-lock to buy them more time before the inevitable discovery of the theft. this is what tzuyu excels at - cracking safes and manipulating the locks that in theory, keep thieves like them away from the treasures inside.

there’s a grim set to nayeon’s jaw when tzuyu is done. tzuyu parses through jeongyeon's instructions in her mind and connects the dots. she recalls that nayeon hates heights. which explains why nayeon looks less than happy about the fact they can't risk taking the emergency stairwell and will have to rappel five stories down the side of the hotel into the room that jeongyeon had bribed a manager for their use.

nayeon’s a shade paler by the time both of them safely enter room 2129. to anyone else, it would not have been noticeable, but tzuyu has been trained to pick up even the slightest of things, so she notices all of nayeon’s little tells. the way her hands tremor slightly. the way her breathing is a little too erratic. 

tzuyu pretends not to notice, turning her attention to the wardrobe in the corner and giving nayeon the space she needs to compose herself.

“people are willing to pay any price for whatever they want,” tzuyu says casually. she hands nayeon one of the givenchy dresses that she finds hanging inside, just as jeongyeon had arranged for them. “even the richest of rich fucks.”

nayeon blinks at tzuyu's words, confused for just a second before it clicks. then she throws her head back and laughs, bright and carefree. 

tzuyu cracks a smile too, then has to fight to regain her balance when nayeon’s hand comes up to smack her shoulder, catching her entirely by surprise. tzuyu catalogues this as yet another nayeon quirk, making a mental note to either stand further away from nayeon while telling her a joke, or to just brace for impact.

“you’re something else, tzuyu-yah,” nayeon tells her later when they're dressed and ready to blend in with the rest of the invited guests downstairs. there's a fond smile on nayeon's face, as beautiful as the petals of a flower blossoming on the first day of spring. “i think we’re going to work really well together."

>>>

sunlight finds tzuyu alone in bed, the sheets beside her still warm to the touch. the smell of scrambled eggs lingers in the air. it makes tzuyu smile. because even after years of tzuyu teaching her, nayeon only knows how to make scrambled eggs perfectly.

she gets out of bed and pulls on her robe. then wanders out of the bedroom to find her love in the kitchen. tzuyu stands on the threshold for a few seconds longer than necessary. she takes in the way nayeon is standing over the stove with her tongue poking out slightly in concentration as she plates the eggs. it’s a picture-perfect sight really, nayeon being domestic in tzuyu’s kitchen, dressed in one of tzuyu’s shirts and her hair up in a messy bun.

“morning,” tzuyu greets as she steps into place behind nayeon, wrapping her arms around nayeon and nosing against the roman numerals inked onto nayeon’s nape. 

**XXIII. XV. XXII. XX.**

she can feel it; the way nayeon shivers slightly before sinking into tzuyu’s embrace. so, tzuyu presses her lips against the tattoo, if only just to feel nayeon shiver again.

“you can ask you know.”

tzuyu just presses another feather-light kiss to the tattoo - a wordless question.

“they’re dates important to me,” nayeon breathes, like she’s been dying to share this last secret she’s kept locked under her ribs. “i had the first three done right after i moved to tokyo.”

“tell me,” tzuyu murmurs. she doesn’t let go of nayeon but takes a tiny step back. Just enough for her to brush her thumb over the first numeral. _XXIII._

“june 23rd. Our first mission together.”

then over the second. _XV._

“january 15th. your first solo mission. you got hurt and - and for the first time, i realised that i cared about you a lot more than i cared about anyone else.”

then the third. _XXII. _

“september 22nd. macau. you sang me a birthday song and i told you i loved you. and you - you said you loved me too.”

nayeon shifts before tzuyu brushes over the final tattoo. she turns around and looks up at tzuyu with sunshine shimmering bright in her eyes. 

“i had the last one done two weeks ago -”

“kyoto,” tzuyu interrupts. “october 20th.”

nayeon’s smile widens and tzuyu feels all the puzzle pieces finally fall into place. 

“for love. and the start of the rest of our lives, if you’ll have me.”

tzuyu’s heart overflows. a part of her knows they have a long road ahead of them. there’s a lot of healing left to do. and it will be anything but easy. 

but right here, right now, all she yearns for is to live in this feeling, this everglow. forever. and maybe, that’s more than enough.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> @skyclectic on twitter and skyclectic on curious cat.
> 
> so, come drop by to say hi or share your thoughts or ask me anything, really. <3


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